[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H6163-H6164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          PRESERVE THE OCS BAN

  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday's vote by the Interior 
Appropriations Subcommittee to lift the 14-year-old [[Page H 6164]] OCS 
moratorium on oil and gas activity was a big disappointment for 
Florida. Even through we know that the annual appropriations ritual to 
protect our sensitive coastal waters may not be the best way to 
operate, the lack of a long-term policy has forced us to take what we 
can get.
  Floridians and millions of visitors to Florida strongly oppose 
opening up our coastal waters to oil and gas drilling--not just because 
of the tremendous risk of a spill to our environment, our beaches, and 
our tourist economy, but also because of the onshore infrastructure 
such drilling would spawn.
  In the near term, we urge the full Appropriations Committee to 
restore the ban--and we will take our fight to this floor if necessary. 
For the longer term, it is time to develop a real solution to this 
annual problem, perhaps by passing H.R. 72, a bill that provides for 
good science, some degree of certainty, and a rational plan to 
determine if and where exploration can be done safely. Meanwhile, those 
who love Florida will fight to protect it.

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